This invention relates to an ice dispenser which can supply by a single motion a measured amount of ice pieces, for example, to a plurality of vessels such as glasses carried in a rack.
In eating places including restaurants and coffee shops, customers are generally served with so-called ice water, i.e. glasses of water with ice, before orders are taken as an expression of hospitality. As the apparatus for serving ice water, an ice dispenser which supplies ice pieces only or an ice water dispenser which supplies ice pieces and water is suitably utilized. To describe one example of the basic structure of the ice water dispenser, it consists of an ice making machine which produces a predetermined size of ice pieces continuously, an ice bin in which the ice pieces produced in the ice making machine are stored, a measuring device for measuring the ice pieces discharged from the ice bin upon receipt of a command to that effect and a water supplying means for supplying water to the glasses; in which the ice pieces measured by the measuring device are designed to be supplied together with water to the glasses placed at predetermined positions below the outlet.
As the measuring device in the ice water dispenser, a weighing system measuring device is generally employed, in which ice pieces discharged from the ice bin are fed to the measuring cup disposed in the dispenser until a predetermined weight of ice pieces are introduced thereto, and the ice pieces thus measured in the cup are supplied to a glass.
The dispenser which supplies ice pieces and water or ice pieces only is designed to supply by one motion a measured amount of ice pieces only or together with water to one glass. The number of customers who visit the restaurant or coffee shop varies greatly depending on the time of the day, and there is no trouble to prepare and offer ice waters using such dispenser when there are a very few customers visiting. However, if a great number of customers rushes in such as during supper time, it takes a considerable time for preparing ice waters for them, giving rise to an unnegligible problem.
Under such circumstances, a number of ice waters are prepared preliminarily before a great number of customers are expected to visit in order to cope with such problem. However, if ice waters are prepared beforehand, the ice pieces melt gradually, and the water becomes lukewarm in vain.
Therefore, a contrivance can be made in order to overcome such inconvenience to dispose a plurality of ice measuring devices and water supplying means in the dispenser and prepare a plurality of ice water at one time. However, the weighing system measuring device utilized in conventional dispensers is of a bulky structure, and thus a great space is required for disposing many measuring devices in the dispenser. Accordingly, not only the size of the dispenser itself becomes very large, but also the cost thereof becomes too high to be offered in practical uses.
This invention is proposed in view of the problems inherent in the conventional dispensers and for the purpose of solving them successfully, and it is an object of this invention to provide an ice dispenser having a simple constitution which can supply a measured amount of ice pieces to a plurality of vessels respectively at one time.
It is another object of this invention to provide an ice measuring device for such ice dispenser, which has simple constitution and can measure and supply a predetermined amount of ice pieces, the material to be supplied, to the vessels.